US states seek to ease inflation burden with direct payments


              FILE - Gov. J.B. Pritzker defends his plan to offer election-year tax relief to consumers on groceries, gasoline and property in this Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 photo. Rebates or cash payments are being proposed in California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and elsewhere as states are flush with cash and Americans are facing the highest inflation in four decades.  (AP Photo/John O'Connor, File)
            
              FILE - Gas prices are displayed at a gas station Friday, March 11, 2022, in Long Beach, Calif.  Rebates or cash payments are being proposed in California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and elsewhere as states are flush with cash and Americans are facing the highest inflation in four decades. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
            
              FILE - Gov. Janet Mills attends an event at the Blaine House, Friday, March 11, 2022, in Augusta, Maine.  Rebates or cash payments are being proposed in California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and elsewhere as states are flush with cash and Americans are facing the highest inflation in four decades.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
            In this July 18, 2019 photo, Maine clammer Wendell Cressey works on a mudflat in Harpswell, Maine. Cressey's state is sending thousands of residents $850 rebate checks to cope with inflation, but Cressey and others wonder how much the rebate will help due to rising fuel and other costs. (Wendell Cressey via AP) Wayne Holly, the owner of Rio Rancho T-Shirts, poses for a portrait at the family-owned shop in Rio Rancho, N.M., Monday, March 21, 2022. Holly said the small business he and his wife have operated for more than 20 years is feeling the pinch of inflation and that tax rebates offered by state governments won't be enough to combat rising prices or ongoing economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan) In this July 18, 2019 photo, Maine clammer Wendell Cressey and two daughters work on a mudflat in Harpswell, Maine. Cressey's state is sending thousands of residents $850 rebate checks to cope with inflation, but Cressey and others wonder how much the rebate will help due to rising fuel and other costs.  (Wendell Cressey via AP) Wayne Holly, the owner of Rio Rancho T-Shirts, poses for a portrait at the family-owned shop in Rio Rancho, N.M., Monday, March 21, 2022. Holly said the small business he and his wife have operated for more than 20 years has been dramatically affected by the rising cost of materials. He said he and his wife are heartbroken that they have to pass those costs onto customers. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)